Tuesday, October 25, 2011

SELBACH RIESLING DRY 2006

The Selbach Riesling is a quality wine from the Mosel region, with grapes taken from the vineyards on the steep banks of the Mosel River. It's described as a Kabinett wine in German wine terms, produced in dry style. The alcohol content is 11.5% abv, so it's fairly easy to drink. The wine came to the United States courtesy of Terry Theise, an importer and writer whose book, "Reading Between the Wines," has gotten a lot of fantastic press. The bottle was listed at $14 when I picked it up earlier this year at a sale price of $9.

This '06 Riesling has enough age that the petrol smell for which Riesling is known is starting to come through. There's a fairly nice scent of "gasoline on the water," which will be familiar to you if you've ever gone swimming near an outboard motor. In fact, the scent is strong enough that it is clouding the fruit expression.

There's an herbal flavor profile and white fruit flavors that try very hard to compete with the minerality from the slate soil. The minerality wins the battle. The acidity isn't razor sharp, but there is enough zing there to provide a nice, refreshing Riesling experience.